Fires

A house fire in Westminster on Thursday that caused minimal damage was likely caused by a malfunctioning poratable generator, according to a release from the Maryland State Fire Marshal. The Westminster Volunteer fire company and Pleasant Valley Community fire company responded to a call around 11:30 a.m. to the 3300 block of Littlestown Pike to find the rear exterior of a one-story, wood structure on fire, according to the press release. It took the two companies 10 minutes to control the fire, officials stated. The house had no smoke alarms or fire sprinklers, and damages are estimates at about $1,000, according to the release. There were no injuries. Officials said an...

Related "Fires" Articles

Blazes raging in forests and woodlands across California have taken the life of a firefighter, burned two dozen homes and forced thousands of people to flee as crews continue to battle the flames from the air and the ground.
Twenty-one large fires,...

The phone call came about dinnertime.
"Tell Lynda to come home."
It was Lynda Fuchs' older brother, Jeff. Though she had plans to eat at a friend's house down the street, Jeff said he wanted her to return and make dinner for him.
But the...

A Chicago firefighter was hospitalized Saturday morning following an apartment fire in Bridgeport, officials said.
The 55-year-old fire officer suffered medical problems as crews were cleaning up following the 6:30 a.m. fire in the 500 block of West 31...

Fire chiefs usually warn officer workers away from putting space heaters in their cubicles, because of the possibility of fires.
Bill Sohn, South Elgin's fire chief, might have an excuse, however. In his office in the back corner of the South Elgin and...

The following items were taken from La Grange, La Grange Park and Westchester police department reports and press releases. An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt.
La Grange
ACCIDENT
A 13-year-old boy riding a bicycle was struck by a...

A fire in a dishwasher caused enough damage to leave a Naperville home uninhabitable Thursday night, fire officials said.
Dispatchers received a call at 9:08 p.m. about smoke and flames coming from the dishwasher in the kitchen of a home in the 200 block...

Robert Sempoch has responded to a quite a few fires in his 10-year career with the Park Ridge Fire Department. But none occurred as close to home as the one he encountered in June.
That's because the fire broke out in the sixth floor of Sempoch's own...

"It was the scariest day of my life."
That's what Alex Baghdasarian, 33, who lives on the 2400 block of 72nd Court, said of the fire Sunday afternoon that destroyed his three-car garage in Elmwood Park.
The fire was reported to Elmwood Park...

Orland Fire Protection District firefighters said a drone's-eye-view helped them battle a house fire possibly started by a lighting strike Wednesday.
The homeowners were out of town, so neighbors called to report a fire around 2:45 a.m. Wednesday at a...

As Dayleen Marrero walked through what was once a hallway to her West Town apartment Wednesday, she pointed through a hole in the drywall to a soaked kitchen, a muddy living room and a charred bedroom upstairs exposed to the sky.
"Oh, it's my...

A man working at a Morton Grove manufacturing plant was hospitalized Wednesday morning after the fire department responded to a call that an employee had received an electrical shock, according to a Morton Grove fire official.
The man, described as in...

Elgin firefighters responded to three fires in two days — less than 24 hours apart — officials said.
A mattress fire — caused by a child playing with a lighter — was reported at about 7:50 p.m. Monday.
Firefighters were called to 196 N. Lyle Ave. but...

Witnesses who saw a man with a gas can Tuesday leaving the scene of a pre-dawn fire in Gary's Midtown section alerted police when he returned to watch the blaze, police said.
When Patrolmen Terry Peck and Andrew Germonprez spoke to the man, he first...

No injuries were reported after an extra-alarm fire destroyed part of a local plumbing business in the Bridgeport neighborhood early Tuesday.
Fire crews arrived at the building in the 3200 block of South Shields Avenue shortly after 1 a.m. and found...

Crews from multiple municipalities responded to a large house fire Monday afternoon in St. Charles.
St. Charles firefighters were dispatched about 2:30 p.m. to a house at 39W766 Carl Sandburg Road, according to a Fox River & Countryside Fire/Rescue...

An Oak Brook family of seven has been displaced from its home because of a fire early Thursday on the 100 block of Saddle Brook Drive.Damage to the home is estimated at $400,000, with an additional $10,000 in contents lost. Cause of the fire remains under...

Junior Ranger program at West Beach in Portage in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore explains role of firefighters at the park.
Brandon Ramirez, station captain for the fire stations at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, gave a lesson Saturday in...

A fire at a hotel's swimming pool sent large plumes of black smoke high above the Las Vegas Strip but left most guests unscathed Saturday.
It took firefighters about 30 minutes to gain control of the blaze that broke out on the 14th floor of The...

Firefighters had to help evacuate several people, but no one was hurt in a Tuesday night fire that extensively damaged the clubhouse at Crystal Tree Golf and Country Club in Orland Park, authorities said.
After a fire was reported outside the clubhouse...

Plainfield fire officials are investigating the cause of a Tuesday evening fire that left a family of seven homeless.Firefighters responded to several 911 calls around 8:29 p.m. about a fire on the 14400 block of S. Maple Court. Callers told dispatchers...